Her career aspirations are the stuff that makes movies.
Mairen Flanagan, who graduated from Rowan University in December, applied for a NASA internship “on a complete lark” and landed the work experience of a lifetime.
Working virtually at NASA’s headquarters in Washington from her home in Point Pleasant, Flanagan did so well in her internship with the agency’s Disasters program this winter that it’s been extended three additional months.
According to its web site, the program’s professionals “use data and applied research to improve the prediction of, preparation for, response to and recovery from hazards and disasters around the world.”
“I was exploring different careers involving disaster mitigation and I came across the NASA Disasters program,” Flanagan said. “Classes I took at Rowan led me to it and, on a complete lark, I emailed the program manager. Imagine my surprise when I got an invitation to a meeting.”
A geology majorIn the School of Earth & EnvironmentFlanagan graduated from Rowan with a minor and a certificate in undergraduate French studies. She also earned a certificate in chemistry. But it wasn’t just her degrees that set her on the career path she now walks.
Taking courses through Rowan’s popular Disaster Preparedness & Emergency ManagementFlanagan was able to use the science she loves to make a difference in the lives of others through her program.
Partly inspired by the Pierce Brosnan character in the movie “Dante’s Peak,” in which the scientist seeks to mitigate damage from an impending volcanic eruption, Flanagan said there’s a great need for scientists to help prepare for, anticipate and react to the seemingly unending stream of natural disasters.
She pointed out that climate change is causing an increase in floods, hurricanes and forest fires each year. NASA was established to address this problem in the United States and around the world.
“I’ve always wanted to help people and disasters are a perfect way to use the science background I’ve accumulated to help facilitate change,” she said.
Flanagan began her internship in January, days after the devastating volcanic eruption of Tonga in South Pacific. Flanagan was able to see how scientists in the Disasters program can make real change.
“They provided data and resources to the agencies that were actively responding,” Flanagan said. “That’s where the science background comes into play.”
Undergraduate research
Flanagan was an undergraduate at Rowan and participated in original, real-world research.
Flanagan, an assistant professor in Geology, helped to analyze fossilized remnants from tiny ocean creatures retrieved from Pacific Ocean cores. The goal was to determine their chemical composition, and from that, the oceanic conditions in which they lived.
The process involved crushing shells made from tiny foraminifera (single-celled organisms about the size of a grain) and running them through an instrument called a mass spectrumrometer to determine their elements.
“If you look at the ratios you can put them into an equation and get the temperature of the ocean at the time the forams lived,” Flanagan said. “We were looking at the Holocene, the last 12,000 years, which is important because if you look at what happened in the past it can be a good predictor of what will happen in the future.”
Future plans and a dedicated scholar
Flanagan this semester is receiving the Dean’s Outstanding Senior Award, one of three students in the School of Earth & Environment to be so honored this year.
As for her future, Flanagan believes she’ll likely pursue a graduate degree in one of the sciences or emergency management but first wants to see how her NASA internship develops.
“I would love to work there,” she said. “If an opportunity comes up I will jump on it full force. I love volcanoes, the work they do with them, and I’m a disaster movie buff. I’d love to be involved and helping make decisions when something was happening.”
